There
were a lot of jobs on a cattle drive
a cowboy hated to draw, but crossing a river swollen by spring rains, on the down
current side of a herd of long horns, pawing for anything dry, was about the worst
and most dangerous. But if a cowboy drew it, he gave it all he had -- thats
just the way it was with a cowboy.

He needed
to keep the herd moving at a rapid pace, just enough pressure not to spook em
as they crossed, but push em, so they wouldnt drown each other,
and so they wouldnt drift too far down stream of the crossing where the
bank might become steep and muddy slides the cattle cant climb. If that
happened they would usually wad up on one another and drown in great numbers.

At the same
time, he was duty and honor bound to make sure he did all he could to save even
one cow in trouble; after all, that was what he got paid for, and what he gave
his word to do.

In this
sculpture I call, The Crossing, a young drover finds himself in
a very tight spot, seeing a calf knocked down in the mud of the river bank,
with a thousand head pushing up behind. He instinctively ducks in to try and
throw a loop on him and drag him out of the way. He has only a few seconds to
react, and no time to think of his own safety, not that it would matter anyway.

Many times
on the long drives north, young men bet their lives for another man's beef,
and sometimes they lost the bet. Many a crossing was made on those endless trails
north, some crossed rivers of torrential muddy water, but a few made a different
crossing, a crossing to that distant and shining shore.

MONTANA BRONZES®  Each original sculpture
- like the The Crossing cattle drive sculpture - is composed using Montana
Silversmiths proprietary process, "Montana Bronze", using blends
of fine resins with the addition of pure pewter and bronze. The beautiful finish
is the result of hand-applied patinas and metallic paint, carefully matched to
accent all of the subtle detail of the artwork.

If you see "Contact Dealer for Availability" on the next page, it means The Crossing
cattle drive sculpture is out of stock.
or give us a call at 800-474-9111. Ships directly from Montana Silversmiths. Available
only in the U.S.

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